Like Being Struck by Lightning
by everlovingdeer
Summary: "Why the hell would you make something like that?" I demanded, pulling away from Fred's arms. Running a distressed hand through my hair I whined, "Do you even know what you've done? I'm going to have a 15-year-old chasing after me until this thing wears off."
1. Like Being Struck by Lightning

Why was it that each of my Christmas holidays seemed to end this way? I was always shipped off to the Burrow so that the Weasleys could drop me off at the platform. My parents wiped their hands of their responsibilities and could instead focus on their work. Not that I was complaining because I liked the Weasleys. But one thing that I'd learned after spending almost 7 years in the same year as Fred and George, it was that they saw me as a perfect target for them to test their latest inventions on. They were lucky that I had yet to hex them because of it.

Only it seemed like I, for once, wasn't the unlucky one.

Stepping out of the fireplace, my eyes were instantly drawn to the boy sat at the table. Ron barely looked up to greet me as he stuffed a chocolate into his mouth.

"It's good to see you too," I teased, placing my bags on the floor and magicking them back to their normal size. He looked up with a sheepish smile. Bringing his eyes to mine, his smile slackened a little and his eyes grew glazed.

"Ron?" I called out, instantly at his side, "What's the matter?"

"Tell me you didn't eat any of them," George called out from where he and Fred had appeared in the doorway. They hurried over to their younger brother, looking into the box of chocolates that were open in front of him.

"Godric," Fred swore under his breath, looking between the chocolates and his youngest brother.

"What's wrong?" I questioned, eyes drifting to the seemingly harmless box of chocolates.

"I only had one," Ron protested. His eyes had yet to move from my face and I threw an anxious glance at George who stepped towards the box of chocolates to inspect them closely.

"Merlin Forge," he muttered, holding out the box towards Fred. "You'll never believe which one he ate."

Fred took a single glance into the box and swore under his breath. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked between the pair of them, wondering why they weren't explaining anything to me. If this was something serious then what was the point of hiding it between the pair of them. Surely three heads were better than two?

"How are you feeling?" Fred asked as he turned back to face Ron, looking him over with anxious eyes.

But it seemed like Ron had no intention of listening to him. Rising to his feet, Ron walked around his brothers and came to a stop beside me. Eyeing him cautiously, I waited to see what he was going to do. Standing this close to him I could see that the glazed look had slowly left him and that was a good thing, right?

"Do you need some help with your bags?" he questioned, silencing the twins whose eyes had turned to settle on me. Their gaze felt heavy and I shifted a little on my feet before looking back to Ron.

"There's no need to do that," I protested, but he wasn't listening. "Really Ron."

"Don't be stupid, let me help you."

With that, he was off. Taking my bags in his hands he made his way towards the stairs and I watched him leave with cautious eyes. Only once he was at the top of the stairs and out of earshot did I turn to the twin.

Crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow, I demanded, "Explain. Now."

They both shared a look before bringing their eyes back to mine. Realising that I wasn't budging they sighed.

"This is one of our products," Fred explained, "it's still in the test phase and we haven't really found time to test it yet."

"And yet you left it around for anyone to get to!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms open, "It's a ruddy box of chocolates – of course someone's going to eat from it."

Fred rubbed the back of his neck, looking abashed, "We were only gone for 10 minutes."

"That's not important now," I sighed, "What does it do?" George winced a little and I narrowed my eyes, "What does it do, George?"

"A lot of things," he explained hesitantly. "Each one has been laced with a different experimental potion."

"Merlin," I swore, turning my eyes back to the box of chocolates. Who knew that chocolate could cause such a big issue? "So, which one did he eat?"

Again, they hesitated. Godric, they were seventh years! Why couldn't they just talk about this before I went to their mother? Was that really what it was going to take?

"I'm going to tell Molly!"

The moment the words had left my lips, Fred's hands had shot out to stop me. "You can't do that." He sighed, sharing a look with George who nodded silently. Biting his lower lip, Fred admitted, "The one he ate was laced with a love potion and well, since you were the first girl he saw –"

He trailed off meaningfully and I felt my mouth drop open. Godric, being friends with the twins was more trouble than they were worth.

"Why the hell would you make something like that?" I demanded, pulling away from Fred's arms. Running a distressed hand through my hair I whined, "Do you even know what you've done? I'm going to have a 15-year-old chasing after me until this thing wears off."

"I turn 16 in March!" Ron called out, clearly offended from the top of the stairs. Making his way back down the stairs, he approached our small group and forced himself in between Fred and I.

Narrowing my eyes warningly, I hissed at the two older boys, "It better wear off quickly or your little joke shop in the seventh-floor bathroom is going to get it."

Looking between the three silent Weasley brothers, I sighed and shook my head. Heading to the stairs, I intended to walk to Ginny's room and complain to the only other girl in the house. I couldn't very well go to Mrs Weasley but I _could_ talk to Ginny. Hearing a scuffle, I paused at the top of the stairs and turned back to see Ron being easily restrained by his twin brothers after he had clearly attempted to follow after me.

"Don't worry Ford," George assured me with a smile as they both struggled to keep Ron still, "We've got him handled."

* * *

I had taken to avoiding Ron. And maybe it wasn't fair to him that upon seeing him walking towards me, I turned to walk the other way. But it also wasn't fair to him that he had been forced to feel a certain way about me just because he'd eaten a love potion laced chocolate. Godric the boy wasn't even acting like himself. I'd never known Ron as one to chase after girls the way he was currently doing. Right now he should have been doing the same thing as the rest of us – avoiding Umbridge and attending secret DA meetings. Of course, he attended the meetings but he kept using them as a chance to get close to me and I had resorted to stationing his brothers on either side of me as a guard dogs. This was all their fault so they'd have to help me out.

The twins were also concerned because of the amount of time that I had taken to spending in the library. They didn't know that I was currently researching how to reverse the effects of the love potion but I'd tell them if I found anything worthwhile. It only made things harder that the love potion they'd added to the chocolate wasn't a normal one, it was one that had been modified by the twins. I'd done all this research and it had yet to show me any results.

Growing tired of the stuffy library atmosphere, I checked out some books to look over tonight and left the library. I'd crash in the common room for a while before heading up to the dorm to continue my research. My dormmates were complaining that I'd started to isolate myself the moment I'd returned to school after the Christmas holiday but what else could I do? Once this issue was solved then I could return to my social life. Angie was the only one to know the truth about what had happened over the holiday and she had practically pissed herself laughing. It was safe to say that she wasn't particularly helpful.

As I stepped out of the library my guard had been down and that was the reason that I hadn't seen Ron approaching me. I hadn't realised he'd arrived until he was suddenly walking beside me. His sudden presence startled me, even more so when he reached over to take my stack of books from my hand.

"I can take them," I protested, moving to take the books back from him.

He held the pile out of my reach, "They're not heavy."

"Which is why I can carry them," I insisted only to sigh when he shook his head.

We walked in silence for a while before he remarked casually, "You've been going to the library a lot."

"I know, it doesn't suit me, does it?"

He chuckled quietly, shaking his head slightly, "It's not that. I was just worried about you because you've started to spend so long in there."

"You were worried about me?" My surprise carried across to Ron who rolled his eyes.

"Of course I was." Nudging me with his shoulder, he looked away from me as colour rose up his neck, "I care about you."

Swallowing uncomfortably, I forced myself to say, "You've always been like a good younger brother to me."

My words rendered him speechless, making his steps slow. Taking in a breath, he admitted quietly, "I've never wanted to be seen as your younger brother."

I tried to cut in, "Ron –"

He shook his head, intent on saying whatever it was that he wanted to say, "I've certainly never seen you as my sister either."

Ron went silent as if he expected me to say something. But what was I supposed to say to that? This was the most ridiculous situation! Looking to him cautiously, I searched for something, anything to say that would get us off this topic.

It seemed that he grew tired of my silence and decided to fill it for me. "You know, when I was younger I used to have the most ridiculous crush on you while I was growing up and since then –"

"Look we're here!" I declared obnoxiously as reached the Fat Lady who stared down at us expectantly.

"Ford," Ron called out cautiously but I ignored him.

"Lemon drops," I called out impatiently, tapping my foot as I waited for the portrait to swing open.

The Fat Lady hesitated for a moment, looking between Ron and me. With a sigh, she swung open and we both entered the common room. As the portrait swung shut behind us, I took my books back from Ron who had grown very silent. My eyes searched the common room and settled on the twins who, upon hearing the portrait open had looked up and when they'd seen me and their brother they hadn't looked away.

"Thanks for carrying these for me," I muttered under my breath before approaching the sofa where the twins were sat.

As I stood before them, the twins looked between Ron and me. George looked back to me and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't care what you do," I hissed quietly, "But you better sort this out!"

* * *

Lying in bed with my back propped up by pillows, I looked across my empty dorm with a sigh. Everyone was down in Hogsmeade and I had wanted to go too but I was in too much pain to move. Adjusting the hot water bottle against my stomach, I groaned at the stab of pain in my abdomen. Looking to the clock I made a face; I couldn't take another dosage of the pain potion for two more hours.

I rubbed at my tired eyes before turning my attention back to the book that was open in my lap. If I wasn't able to spend the day in Hogsmeade, then I'd decided to spend it doing something practical, like trying to find out how to reverse the effects of the potion. It still showed no signs of wearing off.

But, as I reached the end of the book, I let out a frustrated sound. How was it possible that there was nothing in any of the textbooks that I'd checked out from the library? Closing the book with a sigh, I placed it on top of the pile next to my bed and decided to curl up into a ball and sleep for a while. It seemed like there was no solution but to wait and there was probably no point in stressing myself out of it.

Although, I thought as I snuggled into my duvet, if there was a solution to all of this then the twins would know what it was. But what reason would they have to not give me the answer? Unless –

They had said that the product had been untested. Was this their way of testing the product to see how long it would last? My eyes narrowed, the idea of sleeping flying away as I sat up again. Godric, I was going to kill them when they returned from Hogsmeade.

Before my murderous thoughts could get anywhere, there was a tapping against the dorm window. Forcing myself from the bed, I winced at the pain the action caused. Who decided that periods needed to be a thing? Heading to the window, I opened it to see the familiar owl hovering outside of the window.

"Pig?"

Opening the window, I watched as Pigwidgeon flew inside to perch on the windowsill. He had a small letter and package tied around his leg. Untying the string attached to his leg, I rubbed a finger over the top of Pig's head before feeding him some treats. He ate the treats greedily, reminding me of his owner. Pig flew off without a second's hesitation and as he disappeared from sight, I closed the window once again.

Picking up the letter that I had set aside, I saw that it was addressed to me. Taking both the letter and the package back to the bed, I made myself comfortable again. Picking up the hot water bottle, I cast a heating charm on it when I realised that the water had cooled slightly. Opening the envelope, my eyes roved over Ron's handwriting. The more I read the more my cheeks heated and the more I wanted to sink into my pillow in mortification.

The embarrassing letter told me that he knew I'd be embarrassed to find out that he knew I was on my period. How did he know? He'd overheard me giving the talk to Ginny when she'd gotten her period whilst at school and far away from her mother. Godric, as if that wasn't horrifying enough, he said that he'd been waiting to go down to Hogsmeade with me and when Angie had told him that I was in too much pain, he'd put two and two together. He ended the embarrassing letter saying that he'd sent me some stuff that he thought would help.

"Help my foot," I grumbled under my breath as I reached for the wrapped package, "The only thing that helps during a period is a generous dosage of a pain potion."

My voice trailed off as I looked down into the package which was full of Honeydukes chocolate and, from the looks of it, a carton of ice cream which had been placed under a cooling charm. Letting out a shocked breath, I shook my head in wonder.

"Why is he being so sweet?" I asked aloud as I pulled out one of the chocolates and opened it, "It makes this all so much harder."

By the time my dormmates had returned from Hogsmeade, I had made a sizeable dent in the ice cream tub and hadn't even made a dent in the chocolate stash. Which, considering the number of wrappers that were littering my bed, was saying something.

"What the hell?" Angie trailed off as she came to a stop beside my bed, "Why does it look like you've broken up with someone?"

"Stop being so dramatic," I muttered, rummaging through the wrappers to find Ron's letter and handing it off to her.

Reading through the letter, her eyebrows rose in surprise. Once she came to the end of it, she folded the letter back in half and passed it to me before Alicia could read it. Alicia hovered besides my bed, seeming confused by what she had walked into.

"This is bad," she muttered quietly.

"Tell me about it." Rolling my eyes, I threw myself back until I was staring up at the ceiling.

"I don't know what to do," I admitted, hoping the girls would say something.

"What's going on?" Alicia asked as she perched on my bed.

"She's got a boy chasing after her," Angie summarised. Crossing her arms, Angelina gave me a look, "Are you sure you don't like him?"

I shook my head, screwing my eyes shut as I muttered, "I shouldn't like him."

"That doesn't mean you don't like him," Alicia pointed out and I let out a breath.

That was the worst part of the problem.

* * *

The next day when I came down for breakfast I was quite suddenly reminded of my plan to ask the twins for the solution. If they were going to keep it hidden from me then well, I'd have to resort to telling their mother. But I was only comfortable with doing that as a last resort.

As I walked into the great hall, my eyes roved the entire Gryffindor table in search of the twins. I frowned a little when I saw that they were sat across from Ron, talking quietly to him. But I wasn't willing to let this opportunity pass. Walking towards them, I settled down besides Ron and did my very best to ignore the way the younger boy perked up in his seat. Clearing my throat, I poured myself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"So," raising my glass to my lips, I asked, "what were you talking about?"

"How the toad has banned George, Harry and me from playing quidditch," Fred growled out.

"She's a bitch, isn't she?" I muttered under my breath, knowing that our chance of winning took a sudden nosedive with three of our key players out of the mix. The reserve players were good but the boys were better.

"That's a bit of an understatement Ford." George rolled his eyes and gestured towards Ron who was watching me from the corner of his eye as he ate. Godric. "We're just trying to reassure him he'll do fine."

"And if he doesn't then the entire house will be coming for him," Fred added unhelpfully and I kicked him under the table. He hissed, leaning down to rub at his aching knee. "What?"

"Anyway Ford." George had always been the more perceptive of the two and quickly changed the subject, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to talk to you about our little problem," I declared, watching both twins raise an eyebrow.

"What about it?" they asked simultaneously.

"You must know how to fix it. There _has_ to be a way."

Fred raised an eyebrow, "Your research didn't help you then."

Leaning towards them, I lowered my voice so Ron couldn't here, "You better tell me right now or I swear to Merlin I will owl your mother in a heartbeat."

"Alright," George relented with a sigh. "A kiss should work."

"Nice try." I rolled my eyes only to blanch when their expression didn't flicker. They couldn't be serious. "Stop pulling my leg."

"Afraid not, love," George shook his head, "So get kissing."

"Wait a second," Ron interjected, looking at me with hurt written across his features, "who are you kissing?"

I recognised his jealousy in an instant but I couldn't comment on it. Instead I placed a hand on his arm and asked quietly, "Why do you walk around wearing your heart on your sleeve?"

He frowned, not understanding my words and I wasn't surprised that he didn't. Merlin, I didn't understand any of this either. The twins were quick to leave when they noticed that I was distracted. George was the first to walk away but Fred hesitated for a moment.

"Would it kill you to be a bit more receptive towards him?" he asked solemnly, eyes locked on mine. Neither of us paid heed to the curious question Ron asked from beside us.

"It'll only lead him on otherwise," I protested quietly.

"Well it only hurts him when you push him away," he rebutted before trailing after his twin.

Left alone with Ron, I pushed my food around my plate and sighed. Was it possible to be more receptive towards him without leading him on? It wasn't fair for me to be hurting Ron just because his emotions were currently being manipulated by a potion.

Looking contemplatively towards Ron, I cleared my throat when the younger boy smiled cautiously at me. "Are you nervous about the match, today?"

He nodded, growing serious. "Oliver Wood left some big shoes to fill and well, I haven't done a very good job of that so far."

"Does it matter how you do when compared to him?" I questioned as I helped myself to some food. "You're a talented player – you don't need to compare yourself to him."

"Do you think so?" he questioned, his ears reddening under my eyes.

I nodded and smiled reassuringly, "I know so. So, don't worry about the match."

"I'll try not to."

I smiled again, leaning towards him to fix the collar of his uniform. "Good."

Dropping my hand back to my side, I tried not to notice the grin my action had caused. Instead I focused on my breakfast and thought back to Fred's words.

Surely that was receptive enough?

* * *

Quite when acting receptive towards Ron had translated into consenting to having him follow me around I didn't know. With no solution other than the one given by the twins on the horizon, I had decided to put it off for a while longer. And besides, him following me around wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Especially if I could use it to boost his grades a little. As a result I'd taken to tutoring him which he had no complaint against. Whilst he didn't like studying, he couldn't seem to find it in himself to complain when it meant that he would be able to remain by my side for long periods of time.

With his O.W.L.s only a short time away, I made it my duty to make sure he was revising well for them. We would come to the library and sit in a quiet silence which was occasionally broken by a whispered conversation which immediately deviated away from being productive. He was supposed to be revising for his O.W.L.s and I was supposed to be revising for my N.E.W.T.s and yet we both kept getting distracted.

"Ron," Harry called out as he and Hermione approached the table we were sat us. His eyebrows rose a little in surprise when he realised I was there. Smiling apologetically, he gestured to the spare seats, "You don't mind if we sit here do you?"

"Help yourselves," I said with a smile, removing my things so they could sit down.

The two younger Gryffindors settled down across from us and I turned back to Ron when he nudged me. He questioned me quietly on the use of liquorice in potions and I frowned slightly; I could have sworn that we'd gone over this less than an hour ago? I complied anyway, watching as he made notes on what I was saying.

"Ford," Hermione began quietly from where she was sat directly across from me.

"Granger?" I questioned, looking up as she hesitated, Is something wrong?"

"It's about N.E.W.T.s," she began cautiously, "you're taking History of Magic at N.E.W.T level, right?" At my nod she continued on, "Do you recommend it? A lot of people have tried to dissuade me from taking it."

"It's a really complex subject," I admitted, posture stiffening when I felt a hand reached out to mine under the table. Ron linked his fingers through mine and continued on with his work as though he wasn't doing something else beneath the table. "But I'm sure that won't dissuade you. All I can say is that to take the subject at N.E.W.T. level you need to have a passion for it or you'll regret it." Pulling my hand away from Ron's, I crossed my arms so he couldn't reach out for it again. "Does that help in anyway?"

"More than you'd believe," she admitted, seeming like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she looked back over her own notes.

Once the younger girl's attention had drifted away from me I was left to ponder on what it was that I was doing. Ron's hurt eyes were trained on my face and I couldn't bring myself to look to him. Godric I was manipulating his emotions. The potion was making him feel things for me that he didn't and that wasn't acceptable. How could I let this carry on? Especially when I knew the way to stop this.

The only reason I was letting this go on for longer was because I wasn't ready to kiss him but Merlin, what sort of excuse was that? And it wasn't as if the twins had specified where I needed to kiss him was it? Surely a kiss was a kiss, regardless of where it was placed?

As I gathered my things, I made up my mind and rose to my feet. All three fifth years looked to me in surprise at my sudden departure.

"I need to go and talk to Professor McGonagall," I lied smoothly, taking a final moment to compose myself. "I'll see you three later?"

They returned to their work after a few murmured goodbyes until only Ron was left looking up at me. He was still feeling rejected from me pulling my hand away from his. But confusion briefly flashed across his face as I leaned down towards him to press a kiss to his cheek. A blinding grin appeared on his face which had turned so red it could rival his hair and I hurried away.

There it was all over. Except, how was I to know if it had worked?

The answer to my question came as I walked away from the small group. Hermione gasped suddenly and Harry called out Ron's name in urgent concern. There was a thud and I froze midstep, hand tightening on my bag strap as ice settled into my form. Slowly I turned back to the group and found him collapsed on the floor, his things scattered around him.

Hurrying back to their side, I crouched down beside Ron. My fingers went to his pulse point and I found it beating steadily under my fingers.

"Harry, run ahead and tell Pomfrey that we need her to come here," I commanded as I carded my shaking fingers through his hair.

Hermione was stood beside me, staring down at his still form. Letting out a shaky breath I couldn't stop the thought that I had caused this. Godric, this was my fault.

The self-blaming continued on long after Pomfrey had arrived at the library, declared him simply asleep and had taken him to the hospital wing to keep him under watch. It continued even when the twins found me to assure me that it wasn't my fault. It was simply a side-effect to him having consumed the potion which had completely left his system now.

It was all over.

* * *

According to the twins Ron had been confined to the hospital wing for the rest of the week so he could regain his strength and he had been asking for me. I didn't believe them. Why would he be asking for me if we potion had worn off? Unless he wanted to confront me for taking advantage of him and not ending it all sooner?

It seemed like the twins grew tired of my avoidance and had decided that the solution to it was to abduct me on my way back to the common room. I had been innocently talking to Angie as we walked when they had appeared before us. Pushing their way in between me and Angie, they each took to one of my sides and before I knew it, I was being dragged away from Angie. By the time I realised that we were heading towards the Hospital wing, my heels had begun to drag along the floor in protest.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded as the doors to the hospital wing came into view.

"Being good big brothers," George remarked as if it was obvious once they had both stopped trying to drag me along with them.

"How is this you being good older brothers?"

"Because Ron wants to see you and we're taking you to see him," Fred announced bluntly.

My eyes drifted past the twins and settled onto the closed doors. With a shake of my head I looked back to the twins, "Why?"

"Look there's something we should have told you earlier," George began quietly, fidgeting with his tie. Fred shared a look with his brother, "about the chocolate he ate."

Narrowing my eyes, I crossed my arms and stared up at them impatiently, "Well?"

"It _did_ have a love potion in it," George hurried to assure me, "Except –"

"Except?"

"Well we already told you that we'd modified it," Fred defended, "it was a love potion to bring repressed romantic feelings to the surface."

"Repressed romantic feelings," I echoed in shock. Godric I was pitiful, I could feel the way my heart rate picked up at those words.

"It's meant to let the person deal with them head on." Fred cracked an awkward grin, "I guess it means that Ronnykins had a crush on you all along, Ford."

Letting out a breath I took a moment to gather my thoughts. Still, none of this made sense but for now I just needed to see him. Uncrossing my arms, I looked back to the twins.

"I hope you realise that this is all your fault."

"And we won't bother to deny it," George accepted, stepping aside to let me pass.

Fred mirrored his movements, "Now go get your man."

"Oh shut up you dickheads," I muttered as I brushed past them and crossed the remaining distance to the hospital wing.

Once I had entered the hospital wing, I cautiously walked further into the room and scanned each bed as I passed it. My eyes drifted to the end of the room and settled onto a head of red hair as they slept in the bed. Taking another breath, I walked towards his bed and settled down into the chair beside his bed.

Ron was clearly asleep and I had no idea how long he was going to sleep for. But, as I took his hand and felt the warmth of it in mine, I was glad that he hadn't been awake. At least this way I was able to gather my thoughts for just a while longer and I could avoid the inevitable fall back of everything for a short while.

Merlin, what the hell was I doing crushing on a boy 2 years younger than me? Especially when that boy was the younger brother of some of my closest friends? The quiet voice inside my head reminded me that he was 16 now but why did that mean anything? Especially when I had nothing more than a few more months in Hogwarts? And why the hell was I thinking of this as if we were going to start dating? Whether we 'dated' or even stayed friends would depend on how Ron felt when he woke up.

I lost myself in my thoughts, becoming startled when I felt him squeeze my hands. My eyes shot to his, seeing them open. He regarded me cautiously and I swallowed thickly, trying to retract my hand. He held firm.

"I remember everything," he said quietly, slowly as if he'd thought over the words a thousand times, "While I'm embarrassed it took a potion to show you, I'm glad I at least did it."

The relief that filled me at his words was ridiculous. But I didn't voice that. Instead I smiled gently, squeezing his hand and said softly, "Me too."


	2. Epilogue

_1 YEAR LATER_

Once again, Hogsmeade was filled with students from Hogwarts who crammed into the usually quiet shops in their dozens. Of course I would have the misfortune of being sent out on an errand on one such day. Mum had asked me to pick up some things from the town and whilst this usually would've taken over an hour at most, it was taking far longer. I had already been in Hogsmeade for 2 hours and was nowhere near being finished.

Emerging from one of the shops, I blew out a frustrated breath when I was pushed aside by a group of giggling girls who wanted to walk into the shop. Honestly! Ahead of me stood the Three Broomsticks which I gladly headed into, using the chance to get off my feet for a moment. Walking into the pub, I made my way through the crowd of students and eventually found my way to the bar.

"Well aren't you a welcome face," Madam Rosmerta remarked with a grin as she made her way over to me, "What have you been up to then?"

"Completing my training to become a magizoologist," I responded, smiling gratefully as she poured my usual for me. "Last week I had to assist the lead wizard with the flobberworm mating program."

She reared back, wincing, "Sound lovely."

"Imagine how I felt," I muttered dryly, raising my glass to the older witch.

"Are you not going to join your boyfriend?" she asked suddenly, head tilted to the side.

"Ron?" I furrowed my brows, "Is he here?"

She gestured to a table at the corner of the room. Following her eyes, I looked to the table crowded with Ron and his dormmates who seemed to be ribbing him about something.

"He's taking cover," she explained when I looked back to her, "some witch has been eyeing your man – it seems like she thought the best time to make a move was when you weren't around."

"Some witch?" I repeated curiously, raising an eyebrow. Ron hadn't told me about any witch?

"The students gossip and I tend to hear a lot of stuff," she trailed off, thinking slowly. "She's named after a flower of some kind? Rose? Jasmine –"

"Lavender," I suggested and the older woman's face lit up. Ron hadn't mentioned anything about Brown, the only reason that I knew anything about her was because of a concerned letter Hermione had sent to me.

"That's it. There was something about her kissing him after a quidditch match?" The older witch leaned across the bar towards me, oblivious to the way her words had made my heart sink into my stomach. "I'd have a talk with him if I were you – make sure he doesn't do anything. You know what boys his age are like; they're led around by their lower brain."

"I trust him," I responded truthfully, "I don't trust _her,_ but I trust him." I cast a glance to the doors of the pub which opened to reveal Patil and Brown. Patil was saying something to the other girl but she wasn't listening as she looked across the room. "That being said, I think I'm going to go join him."

"Hex her if you need to," Rosmerta called after me, "I'll turn a blind eye and won't tell anyone."

Laughing at her words I made my way through the crowd and towards the table of sixth years. Ron and Harry were sat with their backs towards me and didn't see my approach. Neville was the first to see me approaching and he smiled, welcoming me, before bringing Dean and Seamus' attention to me. The boys ushered me over but still, Ron and Harry remained oblivious until I was standing behind them.

Placing my hands on Ron's shoulders, I squeezed them gently and addressed the table, "How have you been lads?"

They spoke over each other in their haste to answer. I paid them no heed and instead watched as Ron turned swiftly to look at me as if not believing I was standing there. His grin was breath taking as he rose to his feet to embrace me. Faltering slightly from the force of the hug, I patted his back and watched from over his shoulder as the remaining boys snagged a spare chair from a nearby table and made space for me to sit beside Ron. After some seat shuffling I found myself sat between Ron and Harry, facing a table full of grinning sixth years.

"What?" I asked suspiciously, taking a sip from Ron's butterbeer. While rushing to get to his table I had left my drink behind at the bar.

"We were talking about you actually," Dean admitted and I watched, growing a little annoyed as Brown dragged Patil over to the table to join the boys. Without a word she sat herself down and Patil did the same. There was an awkward glance shared between the boys which I acted oblivious to.

"About me?" I asked, threading my fingers through Ron's when he took my hand, "What about me?"

"We were wondering how this tosser could manage to keep a girlfriend for so long," Seamus said with a grin. Glancing curiously at Ron, he rolled his eyes as if to say, 'it's true'. I looked to Seamus in time to see him wink playfully at me, the action caused Ron some unnecessary outrage. Reaching out to lay a hand on his thigh, I traced random patterns over his trousers to calm him. "Especially one as hot as you, Ford."

"Godric Seamus," I wondered with a grin, setting my chin in my palm, "were you always so charming?"

"It doesn't exactly matter how hot a girlfriend is if she's never around," Brown butted in, looking at me with thinly veiled jealousy. Merlin, if the girl had wanted a shot with Ron then she should have tried something last year, before all the love potion rubbish had happened. "If you never spend time together then what does it matter? It's only natural to consider other options in those circumstances."

"I don't agree," I responded coolly, "you can spend all the time in the world together and be unhappy. Besides, I trust Ron and know that he'll react appropriately no matter _who_ throws themselves at him."

Ron bristled beside me, realising that I knew what he'd tried to hide from me. But I didn't look at him. Instead I watched the way the colour drained from Lavender's face as _she_ realised that I knew. She struggled for her words before managing to get some semblance of a sentence out as she rose from her seat to leave the table.

When she had left the table Ron had turned to me, apologies spilling past his lips. I reassured him with a smile, "It's fine Ron –"

"I pushed her away," he hurried out, not seeing the way the other four boys were watching our interactions as if they were the next scene in their favourite drama. "The moment she kissed me I pushed her away, Ginny sent a bat-boge y hex her way and Harry had to restrain Hermione from slapping her. I haven't even talked to her or looked her way since and –"

"It's ok," I said gently, taking my face in his hands and bringing his attention to me, "I meant what I said Ron, I trust you."

"I'm glad," he admitted with a grin, leaning forward to press a kiss to my nose.

Harry coughed loudly, reminding Ron where we were and forcing him to pull away from me. "Godric mate, the dreams are enough, don't you think? There's no reason any of us need to see any of it for real."


End file.
